Article 14: Actions are originally bound by the Shari’ah rules. Hence, no action should be undertaken unless its rule is known. The things on the other side are originally Mubah (permitted) as long as there is no evidence that stipulates prohibition.

The Muslim is commanded to conduct his actions according to the Shari’ah rules. Allah (swt) says

“And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from.” (TMQ 59:7).

Therefore, the origin is that the Muslim restricts himself to the Shari’ah rules. Besides that the Shari’ah principle states:“No rule before the advent of Shari’ah”. In other words, no matter should be given any rule whatsoever before the advent of the rule of Allah (swt) pertaining it. Hence, before the advent of Allah’s (swt) rule, no matter should be given any rule. This means that it should not be given the rule of permissibility, for the Ibaha is a Shari’ah rule that must be established through the address of the Legislator; otherwise it cannot be considered a Shari’ah rule. This is so because the Shari’ah rule is the speech of the Legislator related to the actions of the worshippers. Therefore, anything that has not been mentioned in the address of the Legislator cannot be considered a Shari’ah rule. Therefore, permissibility is not the non-advent of a prohibition, it is rather the advent of Shari’ah evidence stipulating the Mubah (permitted); in other words, the advent of the choice from the Legislator to either undertake or abstain. Therefore, the origin is the abidance by the speech of the Legislator, not the Ibahah; because the rule of Ibahah itself requires a confirmation from the speech of the Legislator. This principle is general, covering the actions and the things. So if a Muslim wanted to perform any action, it would be incumbent upon him to abide by the rule of Allah (swt) pertaining that action. Therefore, he must search for that rule until he knows it and abides by it. In the same manner if a Muslim wanted to take or give anything, whatever that object may be, it is incumbent upon him to abide by the rule of Allah (swt) regarding that object. So he must search for that rule until he knows it and abides by it. This is what the verses and the hadith have indicated in their literal indication and their understanding. Therefore, it is forbidden for a Muslim to undertake any action or to act towards anything upon other than the Shari’ah rule; rather he is obliged to abide by the Shari’ah rule in every action he undertakes and in every matter. After Allah (swt) revealed

“This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.” (TMQ 5:3),and after He (swt) says,

((وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ))

“And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification for all things.” (TMQ 16:89), neither one single action, nor one single object has been left except that Allah (swt) has explained the evidence for its rule, and it is forbidden for anyone, having understood these two verses, to claim that some actions, some things or some situations are devoid of the Shari’ah rule; meaning that Shari’ah has completely ignored it and ,therefore, it failed to designate an evidence or a sign to draw the attention of the obligated to the presence of this Shari’ah rule, in other words, the presence of an Illah that indicated the rule to the person obligated to abide by it; is it Wajib, or Mandub, or Haram, or Makruh or Mubah? Such a claim and anything similar is considered a slander against Shari’ah. Therefore, it is forbidden for anyone to claim that such action is permitted because no Shari’ah rule related to it has been mentioned and the principle is that if no Shari’ah rule is mentioned it must be permitted, and in the same way it is not permitted for anyone to say that this object is permitted because there is no Shari’ah evidence related to it so the origin is permissibility if there is no Shari’ah evidence. It is forbidden to claim this because every action and everything has its evidence in Shari’ah; one must search for the rule of Allah (swt) pertaining to the action or the object to take it and apply it as opposed to making it permitted under the pretext that there is no evidence for it.

However, since the Shari’ah rule is the speech of the Legislator related to the actions of the worshippers, the speech has ,therefore, come to deal with the action of the worshipper, not to deal with the object. This speech has come to deal with the object in consideration of its connection to the action of the worshipper. Thus the speech is originally directed at the action of the worshipper and the object came linked to the action of the worshipper. This is whether the speech was regarding the action without any mention of the object whatsoever, such as Allah (swt) saying

((كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا))

“Eat and drink” (TMQ 2:60), or it has come regarding the object without any mention of the action whatsoever, such as Allah (swt) saying

(( حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ))

“Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine.”(TMQ 5:3). Accordingly, the rule of prohibition in these three things is only in relation to the action of the worshipper in terms of eating, buying, selling and hiring and other actions. Therefore, the Shari'ah rule deals with the action of the worshipper, whether this were a rule for the action or a rule for the object. This is why the origin in actions is to be restricted (to the Shari’ah rule) because the address is only related to the action of the worshipper.

However, by scrutinising the elaborated evidences of the Shari’ah rules, it becomes clear that within the texts which have come as evidences of the rules, the state of the text that acts as an evidence for the action is different to the state of the text that acts as evidence for the object, in terms of the manner in which the address is directed. In the text related to the action, the address is directed to the action alone, regardless of whether the object is mentioned or not. For instance, Allah (swt) says,

(( وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا))

“Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest.” (TMQ 2:275)And He (swt) says,

(( قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ يَلُونَكُمْ مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ))

“O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers.” (TMQ 9:123)And He (swt) says,

(( لِيُنْفِقْ ذُو سَعَةٍ مِنْ سَعَتِهِ))

“Let a man of wealth spend from his wealth.” (TMQ 65:7)And He (swt) says,

((فَلْيُؤَدِّ الَّذِي اؤْتُمِنَ أَمَانَتَهُ))

“And if one of you entrusts another, then let him who is entrusted discharge his trust [faithfully].” (TMQ 2:283)AndAllah (swt) says,

((كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا))

“Eat and drink” (TMQ 2:60). And the Messenger of Allah said

«الْبَيِّعَانِ بِالْخِيَارِ مَا لَمْ يَتَفَرَّقَا»

“Both parties in a business transaction have the righ (the choice to annul it) so long as they have not separated.” agreed upon through Ibn Umar and others.

And he said

«أَعْطُوا الأَجِيرَ أَجْرَهُ»

“Give the worker his wage” reported by Ibn Maja through Ibn Umar and Al-Bayhaqi through Abu Hurayrah with a chain that was deemed as Hasan by Al-Baghawi.

In all of these texts, the address has been directed at the action, and the object has not been mentioned.

And in other examples, Allah (swt) says,

((وَمِنْ كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا))

“And from each you eat tender meat.” (TMQ 35:12).And He (swt) says,

((لِتَأْكُلُوا۟ مِنْهُ لَحْمًۭا))

“To eat from it tender.” (TMQ 16:14).And He (swt) says,

(( وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبًّا فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ))

“And brought forth from it grain, and from it they eat.” (TMQ 36:33). And He (swt) says,

The address in all these is also directed at the action, although the object has been mentioned and this is similar to the address related directly to the action of the worshipper.

This state is different to the state of the text related to the object, where the address is directed exclusively towards the object, regardless of whether the action was mentioned alongside it or not. For instance Allah (swt) says

“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.” (TMQ 5:90).

“And indeed, for you in grazing livestock is a lesson. We give you drink from what is in their bellies - between excretion and blood - pure milk, palatable to drinkers.” (TMQ 16:66).

The address in all of these texts is directed at the object, though the action has been mentioned. Such an address is related to the object; thus it is an outlining of a rule pertaining to that object. However, the rule’s relation to the object is reflected in the fact that it outlines its rule vis-à-vis the action of the worshipper, not vis-à-vis the object detached from the action of the servant, since it is inconceivable for a object to have a rule unless it is related to the servant. Therefore, the difference in the state of the text becomes clear with regard to the manner in which the address is targeted.

This difference indicates that although the Shari’ah rule is the speech of the Legislator related to the actions of the worshippers some rules specified to things have however come to outline the rule of these things in an unrestricted manner, even though their rule was in relation to the worshipper as opposed to being isolated from the worshipper. Through scrutiny, this indication outlines to us that the rules of things have come through a general evidence, which in turn has come to outline the evidence of the actions, and that whatever came specifically related to things is in fact an exception from the general rule which had come as evidence for them through the evidence of the actions. This is so because detailed study has revealed that the Shari’ah text in which the address was directly targeted at the action has come in general terms. Therefore, all the things related to it would be permitted because the request to perform or the choice was general, encompassing all that which is permitted vis-à-vis this request, and the prohibition of something requires a text. For instance, Allah (swt) says

“And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth - all from Him.” (TMQ 45:13).This means that the things in the skies and the earth have been created for us by Allah, and ,therefore, are permitted.

Allah (swt) also says

((وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ))

“Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest (usury).” (TMQ 2:275) which means that Allah (swt) has made the buying and selling of all things permitted; thus the ibahah of selling and buying any of these things does not require an evidence, because the general evidence comprises everything. So, the prohibition of selling something, such as alcohol for instance, requires evidence.

Also, Allah (swt) says

(( كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا))

“O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good.” (TMQ 2:168) which means that eating everything is Halal (lawful); thus the eating of a specific item does not require an evidence to make it Halal, because the general evidence has made it Halal. The prohibition of eating something, such as dead meat for instance, requires evidence.

Allah (swt) says

((كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا))

“And eat and drink, but be not excessive (extravagant).” (TMQ 7:31) which means that the drinking of everything is permitted; thus the drinking of a specific item does not require an evidence to make it permitted, because the general evidence has made it permitted. However, the prohibition of drinking a specific item, such as intoxicants for instance, requires evidence.

Similar to these, general evidences are found permitting everything related to actions such as talking, walking, playing, smelling, inhaling, looking and other actions which man performs; thus the permission of anything related to them does not require an evidence, but the prohibition of anything related to these actions does require an evidence to make it forbidden.

Therefore, the evidences brought by the texts and targeted at the actions have outlined the rule of things in a general and unrestricted manner; ,therefore, they do not require other texts to outline their rules. Thus, the advent of specific texts related to things, once the general rule of these things had been outlined, serves as evidence that these specific rules have come to exclude the rule of these things from the general rule. Hence, the Shari’ah texts have come to outline the Shari’ah rule pertaining things, denoting that they are permitted; hence, they are permitted unless a text exists to prohibit them. It is in this manner that the Shari’ah principle “The origion of things is ibahah”is derived. These are the evidences for this article.